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Akron grapplers host tournament

The Akron Rams wrestling team started their season o Saturday, December 1, when they hosted the Chuck Annand Memorial Wrestling Tournament. There were 15 schools present. Highland won the tournament with 189 team points; while Sedgwick-Fleming was second with 143 points. Yuma finished in third with 105 1/2 points; Merino fourth, 105 points and Akron ended up fifth with 96 1/2 points.
Rams who qualified for state last year and are returning this year are Reed Christensen, who placed 5th at state, Braden Sampson, Reid Palser and Levi Hottinger. The 106 pound class and 113 pound class were wrestled as a round robin and each wrestler was able to be in four matches. Freshman Tanner Watson of Akron placed first, JD Truax, Eads was second, David Mosqueda, Greeley Central was third and Darrion Gibbs, also an Akron freshman, placed fourth. Akron had no wrestlers in the 113 pound class.
At 120 pounds, senior Braden Sampson ended in fourth place. In this class, Aaron Aagesen, Yuma was first, Marcelino Baptsta, Merino, second and Moises Vasquez, Greeley, third. Freshman Josh Quint wrestled at 126 pounds Colin Skelton of Yuma and lost in a fall at 3:33. Quint wrestled Brandon Houder of Limon and won in a 2:00 fall and then lost to Colten Smith, who won in a close 10-9 match.
Austin Couch and Tyler Hottinger, both freshmen, wrestled at 132 pounds.They both had a bye in the first round and both lost their second round matches.

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The two then had to wrestle each other and Couch won that match with an 8-1 decision. Couch then lost his last match to Leon Johnson of Merino with a 3-0 decision. Senior Nick Ulibarri wrestled at 138 pounds, won his first match and then lost his next two matches.
Junior Levi Hottinger wrestled at 145 pounds. In his first match, he won by a fall in 1:10 against Lawrence Gore of Highland; Won by a 10-2 decision over Angel Dominquiz of Yuma and wrestled for the championship against Kris Trujillo of Highland. Trujillo won in a :55 fall and Hottinger placed second. At 152 pounds, Akron had three wrestlers; senior Garrett Florian and freshmen Trent Hill and J.R. Patterson. Although none of them placed in the top four, all of them gained a lot of experience.
Senior Austin Spear placed third in the 160 pound class. Spear pinned Kaloub Zimmer of Highland in 1:27 in his first match, pinned Brandon Buhring of Brush in 5:01, Lost to Taylor Weirich of Eads in a 5:30 fall and then pinned Nick Volmer of Merino in 1:32 to place third. At 170 pounds, freshman Nolan May lost his first two matches. Senior Reed Christensen was the last Akron wrestler at 285 pounds. Christensen pinned Joash Teague of La Veta in :58, pinned Jordan Kreeger of Brush in :37, lost by a fall to Keaton Sameshima of Highland in 4:49 and then lost to Justin Lenox of Eads in a fall of 1:18. The Akron Rms wrestlers will travel to Merino on Thursday for a dual; host Yuma in a dual on Friday, December 7 and then travel to Limon for their tournament on Saturday.